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Desert | Garden | Bryce Canyon

“It is in middles that extremes clash, where ambiguity restlessly rules.” | John Updike

The plants and trees that make their home in Bryce Canyon are living examples of Updike’s viewpoint.

During our road trip from Michigan to Utah, we spent two weeks hiking through Mukuntuweap National Monument (later renamed to Zion National Park) and Bryce Canyon.

In this final part of our three-part series, we explore naturally occurring gardens as we move north into the arid deserts of Utah.

Going Up | Extreme Garden

While hiking along the foundation of they hoodoos that make up this mis-titled “canyon,” it’s clear that the few plants that live here experience the extremes of either having too much water or too little. Combined with the cold nights at the 8,000 to 9,000 foot elevation at the rim, the whistling wind and the searing heat found during the day; our appreciation for their tenacity only increased with each step.

It was worth the hike, because when these extremes clash, the plants and landscape that remain feel like something that should not be found on our planet.